A New York federal judge on Monday ordered the immediate release of a former New York City police officer from a federal prison in North Carolina, in a decision that decried the “Kafkaesque” approach officials had taken to quarantining inmates under their care.

The strongly worded ruling, from U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan of the Southern District of New York, said courts had power to ability to grant compassionate release amid the COVID-19 pandemic, even if a prisoner had not exhausted administrative remedies within the federal Bureau of Prisons, a hurdle that has doomed similar applications by inmates fearing for their health.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]